About

Lingsen Meng is a Professor of Geophysics at UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences. His research focuses on seismic array back-projection, high-resolution MUSIC imaging, reference window strategy, slowness calibration, 3D back-projection, physical insights, earthquake early warning, tsunami prediction and early warning, and tsunami time-reversal imaging.

Research topics

• Seismology
• Geology
• Geophysics
• Geodesy

Selected publications

• Data for Resolving Time-Localized Seafloor Deformation of Tsunami Earthquakes Using the Adjoint-State Inversion

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-05-07

  datasetOpen access

  This repository contains data referenced in a paper to be submitted, currently entitled "Resolving Time-Localized Seafloor Deformation of Tsunami Earthquakes Using the Adjoint-State Inversion". To generate the synthetic data for the Cascadia and Tohoku case studies, the Clawpack software must be installed. Follow the instructions here to install it: https://www.clawpack.org/installing.html Clawpack Development Team. (2024, March 30). Clawpack v5.10.0 (Version 5.10.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.10896214411 Note that Figure 1 was generated using Microsoft PowerPoint and then converted to PDF. All other figure papers were generated in Jupyter Notebooks, mostly as .png files, imported into PowerPoint to combine with other subplots, and then converted to PDF.

  PublisherDOI

• The results and datasets of 2024 Mw 7.0 Mendocino earthquake

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-23

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• How Does Digital Experience of Cultural Heritage Transform into Sustained Behavioral Intention? Assessing Perceived Value and Place Attachment Mechanisms Based on Value Adoption Model

  Sustainability · 2026-02-02

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The rapid development and deep integration of digital technology into cultural heritage have created new experiential paradigms for tourists. However, to transform from technological application to behavioral retention, the internal mechanisms through which digital experiences are internalized into stable, sustained behavioral intentions must be elucidated. The influence of perceived value on tourists’ long-term behavioral intentions via place attachment remains largely unexplored. Using the value adoption model (VAM), this study constructs a sequential mediation model of “digital experience–perceived value–place attachment–sustained behavioral intentions” and employs structural equation modeling to examine cross-sectional survey responses from 618 tourists visiting Shandong Museum, China. Findings reveal that the functional dimensions of interactive experience and perceived ease of use significantly enhance perceived value, whereas the sensory dimensions of immersive and hedonic experiences have no significant impact on perceived value—possibly because tourists in cultural heritage contexts prioritize knowledge acquisition over sensory stimulation. Perceived value significantly and positively predicts place attachment and sustained behavioral intentions, and place attachment strongly predicts sustained behavioral intentions (including word-of-mouth recommendation, revisit intention, and sharing). This study extends the VAM to offline cultural heritage digital experience contexts, demonstrates that functional utility is more critical than sensory stimulation in driving value perception, and validates the value attachment–behavior transformation pathway, providing theoretical foundations and practical implications for cultural heritage digitalization management.

  PublisherDOI

• Bimaterial Effect and Favorable Energy Ratio Enabled Supershear Rupture in the 2025 Mandalay Quake

  2026-03-13

  articleOpen access

  Joint seismic and geodetic analyses reveal that the 2025 Mw 7.8 Mandalay, Myanmar earthquake ruptured ~510 km of the Sagaing Fault, including a sustained supershear rupture extending ~450 km along the southern branch and a shorter ~60 km subshear rupture to the north. The supershear nature of the southern rupture is independently confirmed by the observation of far-field Mach waves, comparisons between near-fault fault-parallel and fault-normal velocity components, and picks of ground-displacement onset times. This exceptionally long supershear rupture produced widespread building collapse, landslides, and soil liquefaction documented by satellite observations, highlighting the severe damage potential of such rupture modes in urban environments. We propose that the persistent supershear propagation was enabled by the fault’s linear geometry, prolonged interseismic quiescence, favorable energy ratio, and pronounced bimaterial contrasts across the fault interface. Together, these results emphasize the critical roles of fault structure, stress accumulation, and material contrasts in controlling rupture dynamics, and demonstrate that large-scale supershear propagation can occur on interplate continental strike-slip faults.

  PublisherDOI

• Multiscale fault complexity and hydrothermal processes drive earthquake swarms in the Tengchong Volcanic Field, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  Tectonophysics · 2026-01-15

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Analysis of an eight-month-long template-matching catalog for the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake sequence

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-09

  otherOpen access

  This repository contains a template matching catalog outputted from GrowClust (Trugman and Shearer, 2017), containing located and relocated events. Columns follow the same descriptions as those in the GrowClust User Guide for the relocated catalog output file. It also contains the outputs from Seismicity migration, Coulomb Stress, Background Seismicity, and Pore Fluid Pressure analysis.

  PublisherDOI

• The results and datasets of 2024 Mw 7.0 Mendocino earthquake

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-23

  datasetOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Dual-Fault Rupture and Thermo-Mechanical Setting of the 2025 Dingri Earthquake (Southern Tibet)

  Seismological Research Letters · 2026-02-13

  article

  Abstract The southern Tibetan Plateau has been spared from the occurrence of normal faulting earthquakes exceeding Mw 7.0 for over half a century. On 7 January 2025, the Mw 7.01 Dingri earthquake occurred on the southwestern branch of the Xainza-Dinggye rift, southern Tibet, which offers an opportunity to understand the rift-related seismogenic mechanisms and regional deformation dynamics. We integrate finite-fault inversion, multiple-point-source (MPS) modeling, and slowness-enhanced backprojection imaging to investigate the detailed rupture kinematics of this event. Our results show that this rare event is characterized by dual-fault rupture involving normal slip on the main fault and strike-slip motion on the secondary fault. The obtained slip model and MPS modeling delineate three distinct subevents, highlighting significant rupture complexity. Intense high-frequency radiators, spatially aligned with coseismic slip edges, underscore the brittle–ductile transition. The 2025 Dingri event follows a linear scaling relationship between the rupture length (L) and seismogenic thickness (z), with a characteristic L/z ratio of ∼3.2 for continental normal-faulting earthquakes. The substantial earthquake size might be attributed to the unique thermo-mechanical condition of faults, evidenced by aeromagnetic, seismic tomography, and resistivity data. The interaction between strong upper-middle crust and weak lower crust, due to fluid intrusion from the mantle, likely promotes the occurrence of the 2025 Dingri earthquake.

  PublisherDOI

• Data for Resolving Time-Localized Seafloor Deformation of Tsunami Earthquakes Using the Adjoint-State Inversion

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-05-07

  datasetOpen access

  This repository contains data referenced in a paper to be submitted, currently entitled "Resolving Time-Localized Seafloor Deformation of Tsunami Earthquakes Using the Adjoint-State Inversion". To generate the synthetic data for the Cascadia and Tohoku case studies, the Clawpack software must be installed. Follow the instructions here to install it: https://www.clawpack.org/installing.html Clawpack Development Team. (2024, March 30). Clawpack v5.10.0 (Version 5.10.0). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.10896214411 Note that Figure 1 was generated using Microsoft PowerPoint and then converted to PDF. All other figure papers were generated in Jupyter Notebooks, mostly as .png files, imported into PowerPoint to combine with other subplots, and then converted to PDF.

  PublisherDOI

• Bimaterial effect and favorable energy ratio enabled supershear rupture in the 2025 Mandalay earthquake

  Science · 2025-10-30 · 11 citations

  articleCorresponding

  ) 7.8 Mandalay, Myanmar, earthquake ruptured ~510 km of the Sagaing fault, with a sustained supershear rupture extending ~450 km on the southern branch. Far-field Mach waves and near-field ground motion confirmed the supershear nature. This exceptionally long supershear rupture caused building collapse and soil liquefaction, as observed in satellite imagery, offering insights into the damage potential of such ruptures in urban areas. Sustained supershear propagation was facilitated by the fault's linear geometry, prolonged interseismic quiescence, favorable energy ratio, and pronounced bimaterial contrasts across the fault interface. These findings underscore the roles of fault structure, stress accumulation, and material contrasts in governing rupture dynamics, demonstrating that large-scale supershear propagation can occur in interplate continental fault systems.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• A New Adjoint-state Full Waveform Tsunami Source Imaging Method

  NSF · $379k · 2018–2022

• CAREER: Investigating earthquake nucleation and rupture dynamics while reducing the hazard vulnerability of the immigrant community

  NSF · $590k · 2019–2026

• Detecting offshore seismicity by combining back-projection and matched filter analysis

  NSF · $245k · 2017–2019

• Improving Back-Projection Imaging with a Novel Physics-Based Aftershock Calibration Approach

  NSF · $180k · 2016–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Jean‐Paul Ampuero

  Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur

  91 shared

• Han Bao

  51 shared

• Hui Huang

  State Grid Corporation of China (China)

  41 shared

• Yuqing Xie

  34 shared

• Saeed Mohanna

  University of California, Los Angeles

  25 shared

• Liuwei Xu

  Planetary Science Institute

  25 shared

• Roland Bürgmann

  University of California, Berkeley

  24 shared

• Zhang Yunjun

  Chinese Academy of Sciences

  23 shared

Labs

• Lingsen MengPI